Did Ay Kill King Tut?
Did Ay Kill King Tut? - Investigating
the possible Murder of Tutankhamun
Background information about the
possible murder of Tutankhamun and a prime suspect - Ay. In 1968 and
1978 x-ray examinations of the mummy of Tutankhamun
revealed that the mummy
of King Tut had a mysterious dense spot on the lower back of the
skull. This lead to speculation that the young King
Tut had been killed, or murdered, by a blow on his head. But did
Did Ay Kill King Tut?
Did Ay Kill King Tut? - The Suspect
Ay
Ay, the Vizier of King Tut, has been
put forward as a prime suspect in the possible murder of King Tut. But
who was Ay and what relationship did he have with the Pharaoh
Tutankhamun?
-
His Position: He rose to
prominence as Master of Horses during the reign of Akhenaten (the father
of Tutankhamun), then served as Grand Vizier to Tutankhamun during which
time he held enormous power over the boy-king
-
Children of Ay: He was the
father of Nefertiti who married Akhenaten
-
He became Pharaoh
immediately after the death of King Tut
-
He usurped the throne from
General Horemheb who had been designated as the Boy King Tutankhamun's
"Deputy" and was the officially recognised as heir to King Tut
-
He reigned for just four
years (1325 BC -1321 BC) - he was an old man, in his late sixties, when
he became Pharaoh
-
His Wives: Tey and Ankhesenpaaten
-
Ankhesenpaaten was
previously the wife of Tutankhamun. She was also the daughter Nefertiti
and therefore the granddaughter of Ay
-
He married Ankhesenpaaten
who was in her early twenties, against her wishes. She died mysteriously
during his reign
-
Pharaoh Ay continued the
ideals of the highly unpopular religion initiated by Akhenaten which
worshipped just one god, the Aten instead of worshipping the old gods
Did Ay Kill King Tut? - Did
Ay
have the Opportunity?
As his Chief Advisor, Vizier and
family member Ay would have had close contact with Tutankhamun. They
would have probably had time alone together. Ay would have had the
opportunity to kill King Tut, had he wanted.
Did Ay Kill King Tut? - Did
Ay
have a Motive?
Ay had a number of motives for
wanting the death of Tutankhamun.
-
Politics - he was a
leading figure in the politics and used being in the position of
considerable power. Ay was responsible for the Tomb of Tutankhamun.
It was ten times smaller than many other royal tombs. Only one room
had wall paintings and these were extremely slapdash. Did Ay want to
get rid of the Pharaoh as quickly and with as least fuss as
possible?
-
Religion - Ay had been
pivotal in the religious revolution which radically changed Ancient
Egypt from a polytheistic religion, with many gods, to monotheism
(the worship of one god). During his reign he continued these
ideals. However, the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun had been put under
considerable pressure to make compromises regarding the new religion
as so many people were clamouring to revert to the old religion.
Those most vocal about the old religion were the priests of the god
Amun who had lost their position of power and wealth with the
introduction of the new religion which worshipped just one god, the
Aten. Tutamkhamun had been forced to leave the new city of Armana
built to celebrate Aten and move back to Thebes, the central
location of the priests of Amun. Ay would have been a firm supporter
of the new religion and might have feared that this would be
completely lost if Tutankhamun continued to rule
-
Money - revenue went to
the state, rather than the priests of the old religion
-
Rivalry with General
Horemheb - Ay might have believed that he should have been
designated as "Deputy" to Tutankhamun and officially
recognised as heir to King Tut, rather than General Horemheb.
Horemheb also favoured the old religion
Did Ay Kill King Tut?
Each section of this website addresses all topics and
provides interesting facts and information about the Golden Age of
Pharaohs and of Egypt and the mysterious death of King Tut. The Sitemap provides full details
of all of the information and facts provided about the fascinating subject
of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
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